The Marcos and Adina Katz YUTORAH IN PRINT Chukat 5781 For The Love Of Life Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm z”l (Originally delivered March 19, 1960) ne of the least understood portions of the entire us so that at the very least we might better appreciate the Torah is that dealing with the laws of tumah and Divine wisdom which inheres in every word of Torah. taharah, ritual impurity and the cleansing from Our Torah is a Torah of life. It teaches us to love life, Othat state of impurity. In most cases, these laws no longer to cherish it, to enhance it. It is called Torat chayyim, apply today. An example might be that of which we read the law of life, and is referred to as Etz chayyim hi la- in today’s Parshat Parah, concerning the purification of machazikim bah, a tree of life to those who support it. Its one who had been defiled by coming into contact with purpose is ve’chai ba-hem--that we attain life through the a corpse. These laws do not apply, because the principal commandments written therein. G-d’s greatest gift to man effect of tumah is that the person who becomes tamei, above all is: life. unclean, may not enter the sanctuary or eat of the flesh of a And in order to ensure this emphasis in life, in order to Korban, a sacrifice, such as the Korban Pesach. Since today secure this affirmation of the principle of life, the Torah we no longer have a temple, nor do we have any sacrifices, negatively bids us to keep away from death. Thus while hence most forms of tumah are no longer in effect, except the religions of the ancient world had their priests spend for the one kind where the law deals with that sort of most of their time in ministrations to the dead, our Torah tumah which has consequences for domestic life as well. gave our priests, our Kohanim, instructions to do the exact These laws of tumah are sorely misunderstood. Some reverse: Le-nefesh lo yitama b’amav, he may not defile people who read the Bible only superficially have come himself by contact with any dead, except for certain very to the conclusion that they are merely guides to hygiene, close relatives. Thus too, G-d originally forbade man to and that hence they have no deeper spiritual meaning and destroy animal life even for the purpose of food. Few of us are totally irrelevant in this age of scientific prophylaxis. may realize that by Divine decree Adam was a vegetarian, Others have imagined that they are a form of Jewish for only later, to the children of Noah, did G-d grant the magical taboo. concession allowing them to partake of animal flesh. Thus What does our tradition teach us about the meaning too, the principle of pikuach nefesh takes precedence over of the laws of tumah and tahara? Generally, Judaism all commandments save three, and whenever there is a discourages probing too deeply into the meaning or reason danger to life all commandments except these three are for these commandments. Especially with regard to the ignored. laws of Parah Adumah which we read of in today’s Parshat In order to express powerfully this love of life, this Parah, our tradition teaches us that this ritual must forever abhorrence of death, we have the laws of tumah. Almost remain a mystery, and the secret of the red heifer must for all these laws, in all their various forms and in all their all eternity remain concealed from the inquisitive eyes of ramifications, remind us of this principle of love of life. Our human reason. Nevertheless, while we shall not presume to portion deals with the defilement that comes from direct discover Divine intention, I do want to share with you what contact with a dead body or a dead organ. Such a person I recently heard in the name of a great rabbi of our century, is declared tamei--unclean. There is the tumat tzaraat, the the Kovner Rav, an explanation which makes the laws of state of uncleanliness of the leper. For the leper is one tumah and taharah more meaningful and more relevant to on whom patches of skin, a part of his body, have died. YUTORAH IN PRINT • A PROJECT OF YESHIVA Chukat 5781 UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR THE JEWISH FUTURE 1 Download thousands of audio shiurim and articles at www.yutorah.org Hence--tumah. There is tumat zav and tumat niddah: In resurgence of life. And after the Jew drinks water he recites certain cases, the one natural and the other pathological, the blessing of Boreh Nefashot, in which we praise G-d for when certain issues flow from the human body, then too, creating many souls and for their needs providing a world, the Torah declares a state of tumah, for here there is a loss le’hachayot bahem nefesh kol chai, with which to keep by the human body, in one case the female and in one case alive the soul of every human being. Water, thus, is the the male, of the potential for a life, of that physiological symbol of life. substance from which life, under other circumstances, Tevillah be’mayim, therefore, represents the love of life. could have been created. When this vital matter is lost, It is a rededication to life. The most appropriate way of when the potential for life is wasted--there is a state of ridding oneself of tumah, of the state of having been too tumah. close to death, is that of immersion in water. Taharah is the So that the major guiding principle of the laws of tumah process that reverses tumah. We triumph over death by a is: the love for life, negatively expressed as an abhorrence greater dedication to life. Whether our brush with death and detestation of death. When the Jew has contact with came through tumat met or tumat tzaraat or tamat niddah, death in any of the ways discussed, he is tamei, and as such or tumat zav, the way of taharah is by washing one’s self he may neither enter the temple nor eat of the sacrificial with the very symbol of life itself, with water. Therefore, flesh until the state of tumah has been replaced by taharah- too, the Gentile who wishes to become a Jew, a Ger, is also -a state of purity and ritual cleanliness. required to perform tevillah be’mayim: this symbolizes his How does one achieve this taharah? There are different rebirth as a Jew, he begins life all over again as he emerges details for each case. Thus in the case of tumat met, from the waters of proselytization. defilement by direct contact with death as we read of it in It is interesting to point out that in prescribing water as a today’s Parshat Parah, there is required the ritual of the red form of taharah, the Halakhah specify that not all kinds of heifer, the Parah Adumah. In the case of tumat tzaraat, the water are valid for this purpose. Only the waters of a well or uncleanliness that inheres in leprosy, there is another set naturally gathered pool, a ma’ayan or mikvah, are sufficient of regulations. The other forms of tumah have additional for the purpose of the process of taharah. But water that is requirements in order to achieve taharah. But common to artificially gathered into one place, called mayim she’uvim, every one of them, integral in the very heart of the process is not valid for taharah. What is the reason for this? When of taharah is tevillah be’mayim--the immersion of one’s self a person is tamei, he or she must achieve purification or in water. Any man and any woman who is tamei, achieves taharah only in a natural stream or pool, because that water taharah through water. symbolizes life, and only G-d, the Creator of Nature, is the Why water? Because water above all is the symbol Author of life. Man, despite his conquest over nature, is not of life. It is the most universal substance without which the author of life. When we eschew mayim she’uvim and life is impossible. An ancient Greek pagan philosopher, insist upon ma’ayan or mikvah, we reaffirm not only our Thales, was led by his observations to maintain that love for life, but our belief that only G-d is the master over water is the primordial substance from which all else life, and that man cannot be trusted with control over this was created. Earlier than him, and with greater scientific most precious gift of G-d to man. accuracy, our Torah declared that in the beginning G-d We do not need a Schweitzer, noble a person as he is, to created heaven and earth and the earth was filled with teach us reverence for life. Our Torah taught the love for water. Contemporary astronomers gazing through their life 3000 years earlier. And where Jews have practiced these telescopes at some distant planet or other celestial body, laws in the days of the temple, and those laws which remain when they want to know if on that planet or body life is which are applicable today, they have known and practiced possible, will first investigate the content of water in its this love for life. atmosphere. The greatest part of our own bodies is made What a pity that there are those of our fellow Jews up of water.